Audiobooks October 28, 2013

I am an avid reader and a member of two book clubs, but I have never “read” a book on tape.  I have always been suspicious of this approach.  How will I be able to concentrate?  Won’t it be painfully slow?  What if I don’t like the reader’s voice?

For 18 years, I was a mom who took her evenings at home seriously, and many of those involved reading in a comfy chair in my study while my daughter did her homework.  But now, two things have changed:  first, there is no daughter to be home for, so there is no impetus to actually occupy my evenings with reading and second, I’m spending far too many hours in the car, driving to classes at College of Marin, to rehearsals in Palo Alto, to voice coaching in Oakland, and then to Almost Pi in Point Reyes to recover!  So, I borrowed a few audio books from the library, and now, I’m hooked!  No longer do I perceive these commutes as wasted hours.  I find myself learning, laughing, lingering over the sentences before I withdraw the car key. 

And as for the voice of the reader, I’ve learned to adapt.  From Stefan Rudnicki, whose resonant bass lent extra gravitas to Nabokov’s “Speak Memory” yet was so rich as to give me auditory indigestion, to Elisa Donovan, whose cutesy vocal lilt in “Lean In” by Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg seemed antithetical to the topic at hand (advancement of women in the workplace, but to be fair, Sandberg herself suffers a similar affliction), audition adds an extra dimension to the experience of reading. 

Eyeliner October 23, 2013

Retirement is fearful in that the persona one has lived within for 30-odd years is no longer there for envelopment and protection.  On the other hand, this radical transition is an opportunity to re-think and re-shape that persona, give it new life or a new twist.

In readying myself for the Tosca performances, I was forced to buy – and to apply – liquid eyeliner.  What a disaster!  But with each application, I got a little more adept and decided that maybe – just maybe – I could think about using it in real life!  What a concept. 

Disarray October 23, 2013

You might think from this blog that everything post-retirement is heading in a positive direction, but there are only so many hours in a day, and with all my new activities and long commutes, some aspects of existence have fallen by the wayside.  My backyard, for example, is a mess, suffering from lack of water and attention.  (Fortunately my Meyer lemon tree, now well established, is still going strong; I plucked literally hundreds of lemons over the weekend.)  I’m not sure what lesson that I should draw from this wreckage – either that I need to slow down, or perhaps that I should hire a gardener.

Feet on the Floor October 23, 2013

As part of establishing a morning meditation routine, as I mentioned previously, I followed Norman Fischer’s book with its 59 slogans to give me structure.  Now that I’ve worked my way through them, at least a first pass, I find myself a bit adrift.  One slogan though, number 41, is an easy one for daily practice:  Begin at the beginning and end at the end.   “As soon as your feet first strike the floor on arising from bed,” advises Fischer, “say ‘today I want to dedicate myself, to the best of my ability, to being generous and openhearted and benefiting others.’”  And similarly, he advises that just before pivoting your legs up into bed in the evening, you review the day’s activities and hope that in some way the actions might have been for the benefit of others. 

The morning practice of this slogan has been easy and calming.  Each morning as the sun breaks into my east-facing bedroom window, my cat Pogo starts circling my head and meowing for his morning meal.  I wake up, swing my legs over the side of the bed and just as they touch the oak floor, together and in complete synchrony with Pogo’s soft front paws, I put forth this intention.  For a brief moment, my brown legs are merged with the wooden base of my bedroom and I hoist myself up ready for another opportunity to be more present, more compassionate. 

Now if only I could be that mindful at the end of the day!

Tosca October 21, 2013

The West Bay Opera’s production of Tosca just ended over the weekend, with me in it!  I was part of the small chorus, who mainly sang off stage in acts one and two, but what a fun experience.  To make music again, and what music!  What an exciting opportunity for me, to sing in my first full opera, to make new friends, to learn under the baton of talented conductors.  I’ve already signed up for auditions for the next one!